When Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on the podium at the 1968 Olympics and bravely raised their fists to protest oppression in America, people didn’t get it…48 years later NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, refuses to stand for the national anthem and gets the same response, proof that many people still don’t get it. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tommie Smith had a LOT to say about this though…

KAREEM ABDUL JABAR: " KAEPERNICK'S ACTIONS "HIGHLY PATRIOTIC"

In his Washington Post blog, NFL legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, stated that refusing to stand AND choosing to stand during the national anthem, are both "highly patriotic" actions. In defense of Kaepernick's actions Kareem wrote this:

"Patriotism isn’t just getting teary-eyed on the Fourth of July or choked up at war memorials. It’s supporting what the Fourth of July celebrates and what those war memorials commemorate: the U.S. Constitution’s insistence that all people should have the same rights and opportunities and that it is the obligation of the government to make that happen. When the government fails in those obligations, it is the responsibility of patriots to speak up and remind them of their duty."

"What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated during the national anthem, but that nearly 50 years after [Muhammad] Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ raised fists caused public ostracization and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities. Failure to fix this problem is what’s really un-American here."- Kareem Abdul Jabar